EURO MPs will today call for even looser border controls to encourage a fresh wave of immigration into Europe – and Britain.

They will claim that many areas of the Continent face acute labour shortages that need to be filled with foreign workers.

Proposals
include a relaxation of employment regulations so that millions more
migrants – asylum seekers among them – can take up jobs within the EU,
including the UK.

The Euro MPs also want
Brussels to discuss further “social security co-ordination” to give
migrants greater access to welfare benefits.

The
proposals last night triggered fears that Britain will be hit by
another population surge that will wreck the Government’s attempt at
restricting annual net immigration.

Tim Aker, of
the Eurosceptic campaign group Get Britain Out, said: “While we are in
the EU we don’t control our borders, Brussels does. This shows they
don’t care about our unemployed, who face more competition for British
jobs due to mass immigration.

If you want to get more jobs and control of our borders, we have got to quit the EU

Tim Aker, of the Eurosceptic campaign group Get Britain Out

“If you want to get more jobs and control of our borders, we have got to quit the EU.”

Mr
Aker added: “Already the UK is seeing net immigration remain over
200,000 per year. This new EU plan will be little consolation for the
one million young unemployed Brits facing more competition for jobs.”

The issue is to be raised today at a meeting of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels.

A draft report prepared by another group of Euro MPs claims Europe needs more immigrant workers because of economic pressures caused by an ageing population.

The document urges “a common European system to identify labour market needs, with a view to the improved targeting and management of labour migration”.

It suggests the EU can help train migrants in relevant job and language skills before they leave their home countries. And it calls for greater “social security co-ordination” within the EU and with immigrants’ native countries, effectively moving towards an international welfare benefits system.

The Euro MPs also call for EU nations to “link refugee and labour market and to give asylum seekers access to the labour market as quickly as possible”.

This would overturn the UK’s current ban on asylum seekers taking jobs.

Tory MP Mark Pritchard said: “With 50 per cent youth unemployment in Greece and Spain and far too many people out of work in Britain, this committee is clearly out of touch with reality.

“This report shows that the European elite live in a fantasy land.”

Anne Main, another Tory MP, said: “These suggestions are absolutely ridiculous. Encouraging more immigrants into the EU will only lead to more coming to Britain to take a share of our benefit system.” Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the plans as “delusional”. We can only hope that even Brussels realises how crazy these plans are and votes them down.

“Europe, the UK included has a serious unemployment problem, particularly among young people. These plans would cost billions, and make life even worse for our young people.”

The report says immigrants should get training to help “promote diversity at work”. It urges EU member nations to “set up language and integration programmes to cover the history, values and principles of European democracy and the rule of law, highlighting the role of women, minority rights and the right of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) people”.

The document estimates the working age population of Europe will fall by 14 million over the next 10 years. Labour shortages could include 700,000 vacancies in information technology by 2015.

Euro MPs are expected to vote on the proposals in the report. Home Office officials insist that the Government retains the right to opt out of EU decisions on immigration, so Britain would not be bound by the plans.

Home Secretary Theresa May earlier this week admitted that the Government is powerless to stop a new surge of immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria. She said that the Government could not prevent immigration quotas from the nations expiring at the end of next year.